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got grace? REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES ~ TRUE GRACE
Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013
FEB RUARY 2013
February’s theme is love. How original, right?
Included in this newsletter are two – yes 2 –
challenges. We would love to hear back from you
if you chose to tackle one of the challenges. In
each newsletter, we will have some ideas for
activities for families and some family favorite
recipes. But in keeping with the mission of “got
grace?”, we will explore topics that touch deep
places and make us think about our lives.
A few years back, I read an article where a busy
mom’s heart was convicted after listening to her
pastor’s sermon on loving your neighbors. She
realized that after living in her neighborhood for
many years, she didn’t know her neighbors. But
how was she going to get to know all of them?
How could she include her young children? One
day, she stumbled across her answer. She
LOVED to cook. She asked for the kiddos help in
making and delivering invitations to soup night
at their house. Surprised and intrigued, many
took the young family up on the offer. The meal
was simple: soup and homemade bread and
water. What transpired that night was a changed
neighborhood. Friendships blossomed. People
lingered that night, which led to conversations
later by mailboxes and fences. And soup night, it
continued as a monthly event. Do you stop to
really love your neighbors? If not, tackle
Challenge #1. I’ve got the soup pot ready!
Kandy
Challenge #1: Matthew 22:39 – Love your neighbor as yourself.
A short list of some other ideas!
Send a letter of encouragement
Bake some cookies
Buy postage stamps for an
elderly neighbor
Pray for them as a family
Spend an evening playing games
Volunteer to help at their house
Watch their kids for a few hours
Walk the dog
A note Kandy recently received.
~ REAL LIVES ~
Recently one of my kiddos has been hurting because of the
actions of other children. When I finally learned how bad it
was, I cradled my sweet girl in my arms, and we cried for a
long time.
After she went to bed, I cried more. I couldn’t sleep so I
sat wrapped in a 60 year old quilt in my favorite rocker. I
rocked and cried. In my humanness, I wanted to knock
some sense into the perpetrators of meanness. It is okay to
disagree, but as my favorite football coach says, “It is not
okay to blow someone else’s candle out to make yours burn
brighter.” I wanted to let them know that adults were on to
them and that their little reign of terror was over.
As the night wore on, sleep did not come. Most of the time, I
prayed. I prayed for guidance. I prayed for support. I
prayed for wisdom. At some point, I was overcome with one
word – LOVE. I knew what God was suggesting. I could
not believe that right when I was so heartbroken, He was
calling me to love my child’s tormentors. But I did it anyway.
I prayed for God to help me love them.
Those prayers did not change my call to be my girl’s
advocate and protector, but it did soften my heart to realize
that in order to stoop so low that there were hurts
somewhere. Those prayers did not take away an
overwhelming sense of guilt of failing my child. I should
have seen the little signs that she was hurting. I didn’t,
which caused me to cry for days.
The truth came out and as it does with broken hearts, they
take time to heal. Since then, my thoughts have then shifted
to how I can love – out loud – those who come in my
children’s paths. I have decided to start my own unique
campaign of writing, sincere notes of encouragement to
those kids who are in my kiddo’s lives. I know it isn’t a lot,
but perhaps if each person took the time to invest in a few
those acts will multiply. And maybe, just maybe, that small
token of love will start to make some hurts go away –
including our own.
February’s Family Recipe
Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013
FEB RUARY 2013
Challenge #2: Is there a child or teen you can encourage today?
Groundhog cupcakes (or pudding cups like
the picture above) have been a Team Stevens
tradition for years. In fact, it is how we met
new neighbors years ago by dropping a batch
at their house. We simply use a store mix for
cupcakes and chocolate frosting covered with
crushed cookies. Insert a vanilla wafer or
Nutter Butter cookie that you decorate to look
like old Punxsutawney Phil. The best part is
even if he sees his shadow, he’s still tasty!
Photo courtesy of little paper house
got grace?
REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES
TRUE GRACE
A new venture begins. . .
Almost a year ago, a friend asked me where I
saw my story (well actually God’s story) going.
She spoke boldly that she felt God wanted me to
know that He had different plans than where I was
at that time. I am a creature of habit; so, her
revelation scared me. She asked me to pray and
she would as well. We did for almost a year. It
didn’t take long to see that she was really speaking
God’s truth, but it scared me even more. Start a
ministry? Are you kidding, God?
More prayer happened, but so did more
encouragement from unsolicited sources –
churches, people in the publishing world,
strangers, and friends. The message was always
the same: women, lots of them, need to hear of
God’s presence in the storm.
More prayer and more meetings followed. After
really seeking God’s heart in this plan, we have
come to the conclusion that this IS really what
God has asked us to do. In all our meetings, we
kept coming back to the fact that we are small
town girls who simply want to share God’s love.
We don’t want glitz or glamour, but rather a
ministry where you can come as you are to be
blessed. Our tag line came from our desire to
openly share who we are – bumps, fears, failures,
shortcomings – knowing that God’s grace is bigger
than all of that.
Each month’s newsletter will feature a theme.
We have plans for coming months, but we
would love to hear from you themes that you
would like to explore. We are also looking for
guest writers, best recipes, and family fun
activities. Let us know what you think!
~Kandy & Brenda
5 minute faith activity for families
Pressed for time, but want to be
purposeful with your family’s faith.
Ever wonder what to do with all
those Christmas newsletters and
cards? Why not pick one a night as
a family? Talk about the giver of the
card or letter. Tell your kids how
you know them and share a story or
two about them. At the end, say a
small prayer for that family/friend.
Kandy Noles Stevens February 2013
FEB RUARY 2013
REAL WOMEN ~ REAL LIVES ~ TRUE (Southern) GRACE
HOW TO REACH US!
Follow Kandy’s blog at www.kandynolesstevens.com
You can follow her at Twitter @lakermom75
Or e-mail her: mominmn@hotmail.com
WWW.WEBADDRESS.COM
Nannie’s famous Coconut Bars
These bars are so good; the recipe was actually requested during Nannie’s funeral. It
went a little like this: “Dear Lord – before we begin to pray for Miss Campbell, I pray
that someone preserved her coconut bar recipe.”
Ingredients:
4 TBSP butter 4 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup Bisquick/self-rising flour 1 to 1 ½ cup sugar
2 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla
1 (7 oz) package sweetened coconut
Directions: Beat all together on low speed until just well blended. Bake at 350 for 45 to 60
minutes in well-greased 9x13 pan. Bars are done when they are lightly brown and set.
The greatest of these is love 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) FEB RUARY 2013